Mohammed Shami’s exceptional final-day spell helped Bengal beat Gujarat for the first time in the Ranji Trophy since 2003. A fired-up Shami picked up five wickets on the final day of the second-round fixture of the tournament, rescuing the Bengal side from a perilous position.
At one point, it looked like Bengal had messed up massively after declaring at 214/8 in their second innings. With 326 runs to defend, Bengal seemed to have lost their way at the start of Day 3 when Urvil and Jaymeet Patel held the innings together, adding 100 runs between themselves.
Urvil, having hit a hundred, looked in supreme touch. The Bengal bowlers failed to trouble him in the first session as Gujarat slowly started ticking the runs off the scoreboard.
Bengal players and team management looked out of sorts and appeared to have given up on the full six points. It seemed they would be content with a draw and the three points based on their first-innings lead.
Heat and Humidity Give Bengal Lucky Break
Just when Bengal had given up, they got a lucky break owing to a massive cramp that Urvil suffered in his left hand. The cramp, in the terribly humid Eden Gardens conditions, was so bad that the keeper-batter had to walk off the field retired hurt.
Urvil’s momentary departure gave Bengal the opportunity to attack the new batter at the crease. Spinner Shahbaz Ahmed, who had picked up six wickets in the first innings, was on the money straight away. Shahbaz dismissed Umang Kumar and Chintan Gaja in the space of six balls, putting Gujarat in a heap of trouble.
Gujarat’s downfall continued after Mohammed Shami returned to bowl in the second session of play. Buoyed by two back-to-back wickets, Bengal had their tails up, which resulted in one more wicket — Vishal Jayswal, bowled through the gate by Shami.
Those three wickets forced the struggling Urvil Patel to return to the crease, but he was unable to save Gujarat from a quick collapse.
From 153/3 in the 35th over, Gujarat were bowled out for just 185 runs within the next 10 overs.
Shami was the star of the show with five wickets in the final innings of the match, taking his tally to eight wickets in the game. This means Shami now has 15 wickets from the two matches played in the Ranji Trophy so far.
Bengal continued their unbeaten run in the Ranji Trophy and have beaten Uttarakhand and Gujarat in their first two games at home. The side will next face Tripura on November 1.
– Ends
